By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
Former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Betta Edu, has announced business start-up support, vocational training and scholarships for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Benue State as part of efforts to help vulnerable families rebuild their lives.
Edu, who made the announcement during a visit to an IDP camp in the state to mark her 40th birthday, said the intervention was designed to move beneficiaries beyond dependence on humanitarian assistance to economic self-reliance.
The support includes 40 sewing machines, 40 grinding machines, 40 refrigerators or deep freezers, 40 sets of hairdressing equipment and scholarships for 40 children, alongside food assistance and special empowerment for persons with disabilities.
She said the women selected to receive sewing machines would undergo tailoring training before being equipped to establish their businesses.
According to her, the initiative is intended to provide beneficiaries with practical skills and equipment to generate income, support their families and gradually rebuild their lives outside the camps.
Edu said she was motivated to return to Benue by a commitment she made to God during an earlier visit to an IDP camp in October 2023, when she was moved to tears by the suffering of displaced families.
She explained that rather than organise an elaborate birthday celebration in Abuja or travel abroad, she chose to spend her 40th birthday with displaced persons as an expression of gratitude to God.
The former minister described the intervention as a personal humanitarian commitment rather than a political activity, although she also expressed support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia over their efforts to address the state’s humanitarian crisis.
Edu said the scholarship component was intended to prevent children from displaced families from losing access to education because of their parents’ financial difficulties.
She urged parents to prioritise their children’s education despite their present circumstances, stressing that schooling could provide them with opportunities to overcome poverty and build better futures.
She also cautioned parents and guardians against exposing girls to sexual exploitation in exchange for money or other material benefits, insisting that displacement should not compromise children’s safety, dignity or education.
To provide immediate relief, Edu said bags of rice had been packaged for distribution to attendees who might not benefit from the business equipment.
She added that persons with disabilities and other physically challenged individuals would also receive special consideration under the programme, although she did not specify the number of beneficiaries or the items earmarked for them.
The former minister disclosed that her scholarship initiative began in 2016 and had supported approximately 40,000 Nigerian children over the past decade, according to her account.
She said the programme initially focused on children in her political ward in Adadama, Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State, where community clashes had affected some families’ ability to sustain their children’s education.
Edu commended the Tinubu administration and the Benue State Government for what she described as improvements in conditions at the IDP camp since her previous visit in October 2023.
She expressed hope that continued government and private-sector interventions would enable displaced families to return to their communities or resettle in other suitable locations and establish sustainable livelihoods.
Her aspiration, she said, was to see the camps eventually emptied as displaced persons regained their independence and rebuilt their lives.
Edu also acknowledged the contributions of friends and supporters who helped finance and organise the birthday outreach, saying the initiative was not funded by her alone.
She commended a medical team that had been attending to people at the venue since 8 a.m., claiming that it had provided services to nearly 10,000 people by the time she addressed the gathering.
